The thing about decorating that I really don't like is the muddle. Not the dust, that is easily wiped up, but it's the displacement of everything that irritates me. The entire contents of the bathroom are on the landing and in our bedroom. I can't get to the trunk that stores bed linen because on top of it sits a box of plastic bath toys, a set of bathroom scales and a twelve pack of loo roll. Things that would normally be in our bedroom are downstairs. Pictures are propped up on the floor against walls. The hoover is currently in Bella's bedroom for some reason. When I come upstairs with a basket of dry washing to put away, I find I have no-where to put down the basket. Nothing is to hand or where you want it to be.
It is annoying.
But we are getting there, in fact I'd go so far as to say that the worst is over. The bathroom is now painted (bright yellow! - be nice when I show you photos) and usable. Our bedroom wall has gone from blue to white. My mum has been an absolute gem and has proved herself to be rather handy with a paintbrush. Things are starting to go back to their normal places and order is slowly being restored. Pictures have been collected from the framers and many trips have been made to the DIY shop. Tomorrow, pictures will be hung and flowers planted. Over the weekend I will catch up with lots and lots of blog reading and take some photos. But right now, I have a date with cup of tea, a rocky road and some knitting.
It's all starting to come together though! Did Angus run round the house with the paintbrush? He made me laugh today running to school - he's bloomin' fast isn't he? Maybe he'll be a sprinter in the Olympics. And I think yellow is an excellent choice for your bathroom. x
ReplyDeleteI am sure it will all look lovely, you have ace taste. The bird picture looks interesting, I look forward to seeing more xxxx
ReplyDeleteI know just how you feel about the decorating, which is probably why I do so little of it. Can't wait to see your yellow bathroom though - yellow is one of my favourite colours too. And I'm intrigued with the bird picture - I'm loving anything with birds on at the moment. x
ReplyDeleteOh rocky road and a cup of tea... I feel I've earned one too after "reading" all the hard work you've been doing! hehe!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see your sunny bathroom, sounds like a great place to pop into in the morning! I hope the weather stays nice so you can enjoy your garden this weekend. X
It will all be fab when it's finished! Is that Alice's Aviary by Alice Melvin? I just saw it in a beautiful shop in Perth, Boo Vake. Jxx
ReplyDeleteHello Jo - yes it is! My sisters gave it to me for Christmas. I have been in love with her work ever since I bought Bella a copy of The High Street, a truly lovely book. x
Deletehttp://www.amazon.co.uk/The-High-Street-Lift-Flap/dp/1854379437/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362689868&sr=8-1
Now that is such a coincidence. I was brought up in Perth and there is an amazing shop there, Boo Vake run by the lovely Arlene. She just posted on Facebook today that print and I was very much coveting it! It jumped out at me on your post. You can find Arlene on Facebook. It's nice to have these things in common, jxx
DeleteGillian,
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to see your beautiful boy!!
I am hankering after yellow for the playroom, so will be very interested to see your bathroom soon.
Leanne xx
Oh my! You have been very busy this week! I loved seeing your little boy "helping"! How very precious!
ReplyDeleteWow - you're being very productive. AND you get points for giving the paintbrush to Angus. My kids still make me nervous when they want to help paint the walls (and they're 12 & 14).
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be great when it's done, I'm sure. I hate painting. I have to give you credit for being so upbeat about the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteThink of all the enjoyment when you're finished and the end is near ... like Jo ... I love your bird print ... can't wait to see the reveal ... Bee xx
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to think of the end result during the chaos, but it will all be worth it! Can't wait to see pictures... Enjoy your knitting and your cuppa :)
ReplyDeleteM xxxx
Your description of the chaos made me laugh. My house is like that most of the time! Good luck getting it all finished. look forward to the photos. Ellie x
ReplyDeleteIt is such a pest isn't it? The only good thing is it is highly motivating to getting the wretched job finished so everything can go back.Cannot wait to see the yellow bathroom, I'm imagining a glorious daffodil colour. Having spent the better part of two years getting rid of custard coloured walls, I promise to be polite! mel x
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing the after pictures, looks like full family involvement :) Definitely the worse part of decorating is the chaos! xx
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness yay! Spring is almost here.... so love seeing your progress... looking forward to the finished view. I'm inspired...have some painting to do myself ;-)
ReplyDeleteoh boy, in the thick of decorating here as well and a wall fell down upstairs as well! i sympathise! great to find your blog today xxxx
ReplyDeleteI know the feeling! Such a frustrating feeling to have everything in chaos. Makes my mind go to pieces! I love bright yellow, so I can't wait to see the pictures! I bet it's all going to be amazing when all's said and done.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, you decorate one room and the whole house is in chaos! It WILL be worth it, just keep chanting that to yourself! :) x
ReplyDeleteI never mind the chaos, I love decorating :) We live in a rented house at the moment so have to put up with universal magnolia and textured wallpaper. Be thankful!
ReplyDeleteGillian, we have been living with this level of chaos since we moved back here 1 year ago - pictures still propped against the wall and stuff being shuffled around and dumped. Drives me crazy too! I can't wait to see it finished and I also really love the look of your bird print there. Lovely to see your little man :-) Have a lovely weekend! Mel x
ReplyDeleteGosh, you have been busy. Here it's more a case of 'works never quite get off the ground'. Note to self: must try harder.
ReplyDeleteI feel exactly the same about decorating, so much so that it puts me off starting. It's all worth it in the end though.
ReplyDeleteOh I hate all the kerfuffle caused by DIY, stuff everywhere, urgh! Always worth it in the end though isn't it.
ReplyDeleteRocky road, good choice. I limit myself to making one batch a year of Nigellas Christmas Rocky Road as it's too delicious and bad for my hips :-)
Poor you Gillian, I know exactly how you must be feeling. Still it's alomst finished and will be well worth the trouble. Brilliant pictures, I love the Spring flowers.
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irene
xxxx
Great work and chaos is usually short-lived and end result very rewarding. Love the primulas.
ReplyDeleteIt is exactly for the reasons you list that I have not even begun to repaint my living room. It is WAY to yellow right now, and I keep thinking I'll just hire it done to get it over quick. But it seems so silly to pay for something I know I can do much more cheaply. It's just the living with the chaos that I have to gird up for.
ReplyDeleteLucky you to have it accomplished!
How on earth do you manage to make even the chaos of DIY look attractive?! I tried with the work on the studio and failed dismally!
ReplyDeleteLonging to see the whole of that print!
Yes, the displacement of everything last week totally annoyed me, too. But you will so happy once you get it all back together. Angus looks like and awesome little helper...he is cute! I love the flowers! I cannot wait to get my hands in the dirt and start planting again! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
ReplyDeleteHappy that the work is done, always difficult but worth it! So sweet to see Angus helping!
ReplyDeleteHave a good weekend,
Ivan x
it will be worth it. Well thats what I keep telling myself after 3 weeks of the same!
ReplyDeleteAnus looks engrossed in his painting - you are a much kinder mummy that me letting him help!
opps that of course should say Angus (blush)
DeleteHa! Yes, I guessed that...snigger..;-) xx
DeleteI can't wait to see the pics! And that bird picture looks lovely - I hope we get more than just the little sneak peek :-)
ReplyDeletei sooooo understand; we painted the whole house (and it's rather tiny, so moving things out of the way created the worst tumble) a few weeks ago, but hang in there.....it was worth it!!!! and luckily this kind of decorating doesn't come along too often!!!
ReplyDeleteA spot on description of life when painting in the home. Nothing is where it needs to be and it is so frustrating!
ReplyDeleteWell done on getting so much achieved. I like the picture of the birds.
Lisa x
Hi, I like your blog, May I stay here??
ReplyDeletehttp://marinainblue.blogspot.com.es/
We are also decorating our small downstairs shower room (we have a proper bathroom upstairs, in the eaves, as this is a dormer house.) And like you, I can put up with the dust, but hate the muddle. We are not changing the suite as it is perfectly OK but not fashionable white, but champagne, a sort of cream that was the last word when the house was built in 1985. So choosing new tiles for the shower cublicle and paper for the rest of the room - for I do love wallpaper - is proving very difficult. We have yet to check out cladding to give the room a New England look, but I do think this is a fashion thing and, in any case, wouldn't look right unless we had a white suite. So I'm thinking along the lines of Chinoiserie or a toile de jouy. Or, putting in a proper dado rail and painting below in a darker shade and above in a lighter shade ... decisions, decisions, and me a writer of interiors and antiques and I can't make up my mind!
ReplyDeleteRe your bedroom, glad you have decided to paint a 'feature' wall ... I never liked these so-called 'feature' walls that are curently popular again, as I remember them from the 1950s, and I just don't buy into a fashion trend the second time around! OK if you've not done this before, of course. But to me it always looks like a room is unfinished, either the feature wall needs decorating to match the rest, or the rest needs decorating to match the feature wall!
But I'm with you on the muddle!
Margaret P
I am so behind with my reading this week. But I too hate the unsettledness that decorating brings. it makes me itch inside to have things all of a muddle. We need to finish our bedroom, do the kitchen and the WC. We have the pain, but I do not have the willpower!
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